Stop Illegal Quarrying in Ireland!

Hello everyone, my name is Tomás Doyle and I’m a Director of the Corrib Community Association which represents concerned local residents in our small, rural community in Galway in Ireland.

Let me tell you why the local community set up this association and our story to date. It begins with an unauthorised Quarry and the impact this has had on our small rural community. The local community know the story is replicated in other communities around the country and may resonate with other people similarly impacted. It took us a long time to understand how quarries are regulated, or lack thereof, and who is responsible for monitoring them. There is overlap amongst the Council, the Environmental Protection Authority and the Health and Safety Authority. It was difficult to obtain information unless we used the freedom of information act and even then, the local community felt we were being obstructed. This made it very difficult for us to deal effectively with the situation.

My neighbours and I have been badly affected by what we believe is illegal quarrying in our area. This came in the form of dust, noise, property damage, house shaking, the frightening of old and young people and pets by blasting, environmental pollution, and destruction. The local community also believe a historical national monument has been threatened. Because the local Council refused to do anything about it, we decided we would. We are trying to raise €50,000 to bring our case to the High Court and ensure the Quarry complies with the law. We believe our case has an extremely good chance of success and we want to inspire others who may have similar experiences to us that they can take on rogue operators and the establishment and win.

We have already had great success in raising almost €30,000 and have succeeded in getting a High Court injunction to stop operations in the Quarry pending a full hearing. But we need help to raise another €50,000 to pay the legal fees to have our case heard.

Like anything worthwhile it has been a difficult journey to get to this stage. A few years ago, most people who lived in our community weren’t that aware of the quarry as there wasn’t much activity there. But that all changed with the building of a bypass in the next village. The quarry increased activity and expanded exponentially. The blasting became more frequent and intense. Houses were being shaken and cracks started to appear. Dust clouds hundreds of feet high were seen floating from the quarry over people’s gardens and houses. Then there were rock breakers hammering away from early morning till late at night. Many people in our community were concerned and a public meeting was held. It included a number of local representatives. At that meeting we were told that the enforcement section of the council “was broken” and there was nothing they could do about it. But the community were not to be deterred. A committee was formed, and they started to get organised. People were encouraged to complain to the planning department and a meeting was held with the owner and operator the quarry. We were assured at that meeting that the quarry would comply with its conditions from the next day. Needless to say, this did not happen, and the quarrying continued as normal.

After investigating we learned that the quarry had no planning permission and should not have been operating at all. But it was supplying stone to the bypass, a construction that was done at the behest of the council. But people still complained and eventually an Enforcement Notice was sent out to the owner and operator of the quarry informing them to stop quarrying within 24 hours and clear the site within two weeks. But this did not happen. The quarrying continued and the council did nothing. They did not ensure that the material for their road construction project was sourced from legal sources, despite having issued an Enforcement Notice against the Quarry.

Following discussions with the community the committee set up the association to tackle the quarry issue, protect our environment and ensure people had their voice heard.

We raised money from the community and sought legal advice. We commissioned planning and environmental reports. We learned about a children’s graveyard on the site which comprised of an early Christian burial ground. We learned that the burial ground had become endangered due to quarrying and was under severe threat. We spoke to people who were affected by the quarry, and they wrote down their experiences in affidavits. Given the extremely serious nature of our case we asked the High Court for an injunction to stop the quarry from operating until a full hearing could be arranged to hear all the evidence. And on the 9th day of November Judge Humphries granted that injunction. The quarry has stopped operating and we now must prepare for the full hearing in the new year.

And this is why we need help. We are trying to raise €50,000 to fund the legal bill. By doing so we hope to be able to ensure that the quarry will be compliant with the law. That means no more unregulated quarrying, no more unregulated destruction and polluting of our environment, and allowing our friends and neighbours to enjoy the peace of their surroundings once again. With your generous contribution we can show people that communities can stand up and make a difference, to hold rogue operators to account and to show local government that we will not accept their callous indifference and blatant disregard for our communities and environmental wellbeing.

I want to thank you for taking the time to read our story. If you feel you can contribute something to our cause, please do so. All donations are gratefully received. And if you cannot donate then perhaps you can pass on our story so others may hear of it.

Thank you so much.

Tomás Doyle